Nigeria’s trade ministry has advanced discussions with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and the IOTA Foundation on ADAPT, the Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade initiative. The talks place Nigeria among the first implementation countries for a digital trade infrastructure project led by the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and designed to support cross-border data exchange, trade documentation, digital identity, interoperable payments, and settlement experimentation.
Nigeria Pushes ADAPT Trade Talks With IOTA
Nigeria’s Minister for Trade, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said on X that she received a delegation from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and the IOTA Foundation for talks focused on ADAPT. The delegation was led by TBI Nigeria Country Director Obianuju Uchenna and Senior Advisor Alban Odhiambo, with the meeting centered on how Nigeria can use digital infrastructure to reduce friction in regional trade.
Oduwole framed ADAPT as a practical trade modernization effort tied to the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade. “We discussed streamlining cross-border trade through ADAPT (Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade) – a strategic initiative by the @afcftasecretariat to operationalize the Protocol on Digital Trade. This critical infrastructure will lower trade costs, accelerate customs clearance, and unlock new markets for Nigerian businesses.”
IOTA confirmed the meeting in its own X post, calling attention to its recent material on early ADAPT implementations. The foundation previously said Kenya, Nigeria, and Morocco had been selected as the first countries to implement ADAPT after an assessment of political commitment, regulatory readiness, digital infrastructure maturity, and private sector engagement. The initiative is led by the AfCFTA Secretariat in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the World Economic Forum, and the IOTA Foundation.
IOTA Frames Pilot Progress Beyond Onchain Metrics
ADAPT is intended to integrate digital identity, cross-border data exchange, and interoperable payments into shared digital public infrastructure for African trade. IOTA’s May 19 announcement described the program as a response to fragmented regulatory systems, limited cross-border data sharing, expensive and slow payment networks, and a trade finance gap estimated at $100 billion annually, with small and medium-sized enterprises described as a major underserved segment of African commerce.
The initial implementation phase is focused on creating ADAPT Country Implementation Forums, integrating digital identity systems and payment rails, and aligning national infrastructure with continental interoperability standards built on TWIN, the open digital trade infrastructure underpinning ADAPT. IOTA co-founder and chair Dominik Schiener said the goal is broader than replacing paper processes. “Africa has a unique opportunity to leapfrog fragmented, paper-based trade systems and establish digital trust infrastructure designed for the future. ADAPT is not only digitising processes, but it is also creating a shared, interoperable foundation where trade data can be trusted, verified, and exchanged securely across borders.”
Karen O’Brien, chief marketing officer at IOTA, used a June 2 X post to caution that government and enterprise adoption may not show up first in onchain activity. “A big challenge with enterprise and government adoption in global trade is that the most visible metrics often come last. Onchain activity matters. But before you get there, there are other signals of progress.”
She later added: “The point is that enterprise adoption doesn’t begin with transaction volume. We just announced the first three of fifty-five countries participating in ADAPT. That’s an important milestone, but it’s the beginning of a journey, not the end.” IOTA has also said its work in Kenya connected to 34 different government systems, describing the process as obtaining data, putting it onchain, and making it verifiable and shareable.
AI Transparency Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of an AI system based on the sources listed and was reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication. All quotes, data points, and factual claims are intended to be grounded in the cited source material; however, errors cannot be ruled out entirely.
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